Detection of Chlamydia species in 2 cases of equine abortion in Switzerland: a retrospective study from 2000 to 2018.
Abstract: Species of genus are important pathogens of animals, with a worldwide distribution and broad host range. Some species, such as , also pose a zoonotic disease risk. Abortion is one of the many diseases that has been associated with chlamydial infections in animals, with most attention focused on the economic impacts to sheep production. The role of chlamydia in equine abortions is unknown. Using the family-specific 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) real-time PCR, we tested 169 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded fetal membrane samples from 162 equine abortion cases collected between 2000 and 2018 in Switzerland. Two equine abortion cases (1.2%) tested positive for . Further analyses by the species-specific 23S rRNA ArrayMate microarray and sequencing of a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene revealed and . In both cases, equine herpesvirus 1 was also present, which might have been the abortion cause, alone or in synergy with . The prevalence of abortigenic chlamydial species in equine abortion cases in our study was significantly lower than rates described elsewhere. Zoonotic chlamydial agents present in equine fetal membranes nevertheless should be considered a potential risk to humans during foaling, abortion, or stillbirth.
Publication Date: 2020-06-11 PubMed ID: 32522107PubMed Central: PMC7438654DOI: 10.1177/1040638720932906Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Animal Health
- Chlamydia
- Diagnosis
- Diagnostic Technique
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Disease Prevalence
- Disease Transmission
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Health
- Equine Herpesvirus
- Infectious Disease
- Pathogens
- Public Health
- Retrospective Study
- Vascular
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
- Veterinary Science
- Zoonotic Diseases
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research article examines the role of Chlamydia species in instances of equine abortion in Switzerland, discovered in two such cases analysed from 2000 to 2018. The prevalence of these abortigenic chlamydial species was found to be lower than rates observed in other regions, but the study suggests they still pose a potential zoonotic risk to humans during foaling.
Objective and Methodology of the Study
The researchers endeavored to understand the prevalence and impact of Chlamydia species, a type of pathogen usually associated with abortion in animals, in cases of equine abortions in Switzerland. The study involved retrospective analysis of 162 equine abortion cases from the years 2000 to 2018. In particular, 169 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded fetal membrane samples were tested using the family-specific 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) real-time PCR.
- The primary test used in the study was the family-specific 23S rRNA real-time PCR—a tool often utilized for detecting and quantifying pathogenic microorganisms. This method allows for the investigation of minute samples, including those that are formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded, as in this study.
- A retrospective design was chosen to facilitate a long-term investigation of equine abortion cases, thereby providing a comprehensive picture of chlamydial infections over time.
Findings
Out of 162 cases, two (1.2%) tested positive for Chlamydia species. Those cases were further analysed with a species-specific 23S rRNA ArrayMate microarray and sequencing of a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene, which revealed the presence of Chlamydia abortus and Chlamydia psittaci.
- Chlamydia abortus and Chlamydia psittaci are species of bacteria that are known to cause abortions in animals.
- Interestingly, in both cases, equine herpesvirus 1 was also present, suggesting the potential for synergy between these pathogens in causing abortion.
Implications and Conclusion
The prevalence rate of chlamydial species in equine abortions in this study was significantly lower than the rates documented in other regions. Despite the low frequency, it is notable that the presence of these zoonotic chlamydial agents in equine fetal membranes can still be a potential health risk to humans during foaling, abortion, or stillbirth.
- The zoonotic risk—indicating transmission from animals to humans—stresses the necessity of implementing proper safety measures during foaling, and following instances of equine abortion or stillbirth.
- The low prevalence, yet potential severity of transmission, both underscores the importance of ongoing monitoring, and highlights avenues for further research in this area.
Cite This Article
APA
Baumann S, Gurtner C, Marti H, Borel N.
(2020).
Detection of Chlamydia species in 2 cases of equine abortion in Switzerland: a retrospective study from 2000 to 2018.
J Vet Diagn Invest, 32(4), 542-548.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1040638720932906 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (Baumann, Marti, Borel).
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (Gurtner).
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (Baumann, Marti, Borel).
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (Gurtner).
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (Baumann, Marti, Borel).
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (Gurtner).
- Institute of Veterinary Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland (Baumann, Marti, Borel).
- Institute of Animal Pathology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland (Gurtner).
MeSH Terms
- Abortion, Veterinary / microbiology
- Animals
- Chlamydia / isolation & purification
- Chlamydia Infections / epidemiology
- Chlamydia Infections / microbiology
- Chlamydia Infections / veterinary
- Female
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horses
- Immunohistochemistry / veterinary
- Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
- Prevalence
- Retrospective Studies
- Switzerland / epidemiology
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
References
This article includes 30 references
- Blumer C, Zimmermann DR, Weilenmann R, Vaughan L, Pospischil A. Chlamydiae in free-ranging and captive frogs in Switzerland.. Vet Pathol 2007 Mar;44(2):144-50.
- Blumer S, Greub G, Waldvogel A, Hässig M, Thoma R, Tschuor A, Pospischil A, Borel N. Waddlia, Parachlamydia and Chlamydiaceae in bovine abortion.. Vet Microbiol 2011 Sep 28;152(3-4):385-93.
- Borel N, Polkinghorne A, Pospischil A. A Review on Chlamydial Diseases in Animals: Still a Challenge for Pathologists?. Vet Pathol 2018 May;55(3):374-390.
- Borel N, Marti H, Pospischil A, Pesch T, Prähauser B, Wunderlin S, Seth-Smith HMB, Low N, Flury R. Chlamydiae in human intestinal biopsy samples.. Pathog Dis 2018 Nov 1;76(8).
- Borel N, Kempf E, Hotzel H, Schubert E, Torgerson P, Slickers P, Ehricht R, Tasara T, Pospischil A, Sachse K. Direct identification of chlamydiae from clinical samples using a DNA microarray assay: a validation study.. Mol Cell Probes 2008 Feb;22(1):55-64.
- Branley J, Bachmann NL, Jelocnik M, Myers GS, Polkinghorne A. Australian human and parrot Chlamydia psittaci strains cluster within the highly virulent 6BC clade of this important zoonotic pathogen.. Sci Rep 2016 Aug 4;6:30019.
- Burach F, Pospischil A, Hanger J, Loader J, Pillonel T, Greub G, Borel N. Chlamydiaceae and Chlamydia-like organisms in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)--organ distribution and histopathological findings.. Vet Microbiol 2014 Aug 6;172(1-2):230-40.
- Chan J, Doyle B, Branley J, Sheppeard V, Gabor M, Viney K, Quinn H, Janover O, McCready M, Heller J. An outbreak of psittacosis at a veterinary school demonstrating a novel source of infection.. One Health 2017 Jun;3:29-33.
- Chanton-Greutmann H, Thoma R, Corboz L, Borel N, Pospischil A. [Abortion in small ruminants in Switzerland: investigations during two lambing seasons (1996-1998) with special regard to chlamydial abortions].. Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd 2002 Sep;144(9):483-92.
- Ehricht R, Slickers P, Goellner S, Hotzel H, Sachse K. Optimized DNA microarray assay allows detection and genotyping of single PCR-amplifiable target copies.. Mol Cell Probes 2006 Feb;20(1):60-3.
- Essig A, Longbottom D. Chlamydia abortus: new aspects of infectious abortion in sheep and potential risk for pregnant women. Curr Clin Microbiol Rpt 2015;2:22–34.
- Everett KD, Bush RM, Andersen AA. Emended description of the order Chlamydiales, proposal of Parachlamydiaceae fam. nov. and Simkaniaceae fam. nov., each containing one monotypic genus, revised taxonomy of the family Chlamydiaceae, including a new genus and five new species, and standards for the identification of organisms.. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1999 Apr;49 Pt 2:415-40.
- Forster JL, Wittenbrink MM, Häni HJ, Corboz L, Pospischil A. Absence of Chlamydia as an aetiological factor in aborting mares.. Vet Rec 1997 Oct 18;141(16):424.
- Hoffmann K, Schott F, Donati M, Di Francesco A, Hässig M, Wanninger S, Sidler X, Borel N. Prevalence of Chlamydial Infections in Fattening Pigs and Their Influencing Factors.. PLoS One 2015;10(11):e0143576.
- Jelocnik M, Branley J, Heller J, Raidal S, Alderson S, Galea F, Gabor M, Polkinghorne A. Multilocus sequence typing identifies an avian-like Chlamydia psittaci strain involved in equine placentitis and associated with subsequent human psittacosis.. Emerg Microbes Infect 2017 Feb 15;6(2):e7.
- Jelocnik M, Jenkins C, O'Rourke B, Barnwell J, Polkinghorne A. Molecular evidence to suggest pigeon-type Chlamydia psittaci in association with an equine foal loss.. Transbound Emerg Dis 2018 Jun;65(3):911-915.
- Jelocnik M, Taylor-Brown A, O'Dea C, Anstey S, Bommana S, Masters N, Katouli M, Jenkins C, Polkinghorne A. Detection of a range of genetically diverse chlamydiae in Australian domesticated and wild ungulates.. Transbound Emerg Dis 2019 May;66(3):1132-1137.
- Jenkins C, Jelocnik M, Micallef ML, Galea F, Taylor-Brown A, Bogema DR, Liu M, O'Rourke B, Chicken C, Carrick J, Polkinghorne A. An epizootic of Chlamydia psittaci equine reproductive loss associated with suspected spillover from native Australian parrots.. Emerg Microbes Infect 2018 May 16;7(1):88.
- Longbottom D, Entrican G, Wheelhouse N, Brough H, Milne C. Evaluation of the impact and control of enzootic abortion of ewes.. Vet J 2013 Feb;195(2):257-9.
- Magnino S, Haag-Wackernagel D, Geigenfeind I, Helmecke S, Dovc A, Prukner-Radovcić E, Residbegović E, Ilieski V, Laroucau K, Donati M, Martinov S, Kaleta EF. Chlamydial infections in feral pigeons in Europe: Review of data and focus on public health implications.. Vet Microbiol 2009 Mar 16;135(1-2):54-67.
- Mattmann P, Marti H, Borel N, Jelocnik M, Albini S, Vogler BR. Chlamydiaceae in wild, feral and domestic pigeons in Switzerland and insight into population dynamics by Chlamydia psittaci multilocus sequence typing.. PLoS One 2019;14(12):e0226088.
- Pantchev A, Sting R, Bauerfeind R, Tyczka J, Sachse K. Detection of all Chlamydophila and Chlamydia spp. of veterinary interest using species-specific real-time PCR assays.. Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis 2010 Dec;33(6):473-84.
- Polkinghorne A, Borel N, Heijne M, Pannekoek Y. New evidence for domesticated animals as reservoirs of Chlamydia-associated community-acquired pneumonia.. Clin Microbiol Infect 2019 Feb;25(2):131-132.
- Pospischil A, Kaiser C, Hofmann-Lehmann R, Lutz H, Hilbe M, Vaughan L, Borel N. Evidence for Chlamydia in wild mammals of the Serengeti.. J Wildl Dis 2012 Oct;48(4):1074-8.
- Pospischil A, Lieb A, Corboz L. [Causes of prenatal foal loss in Switzerland].. Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd 1992;134(9):401-9.
- Sachse K, Kuehlewind S, Ruettger A, Schubert E, Rohde G. More than classical Chlamydia psittaci in urban pigeons.. Vet Microbiol 2012 Jun 15;157(3-4):476-80.
- Staub E, Marti H, Biondi R, Levi A, Donati M, Leonard CA, Ley SD, Pillonel T, Greub G, Seth-Smith HMB, Borel N. Novel Chlamydia species isolated from snakes are temperature-sensitive and exhibit decreased susceptibility to azithromycin.. Sci Rep 2018 Apr 4;8(1):5660.
- Szeredi L, Hotzel H, Sachse K. High prevalence of chlamydial (Chlamydophila psittaci) infection in fetal membranes of aborted equine fetuses.. Vet Res Commun 2005 Mar;29 Suppl 1:37-49.
- Taylor-Brown A, Polkinghorne A. New and emerging chlamydial infections of creatures great and small.. New Microbes New Infect 2017 Jul;18:28-33.
- Wills JM, Watson G, Lusher M, Mair TS, Wood D, Richmond SJ. Characterisation of Chlamydia psittaci isolated from a horse.. Vet Microbiol 1990 Jul;24(1):11-9.
Citations
This article has been cited 8 times.- Ricard RM, Burton J, Chow-Lockerbie B, Wobeser B. Detection of Chlamydia abortus in aborted chorioallantoises of horses from Western Canada. J Vet Diagn Invest 2023 Jul;35(4):359-365.
- Turin L, Surini S, Wheelhouse N, Rocchi MS. Recent advances and public health implications for environmental exposure to Chlamydia abortus: from enzootic to zoonotic disease. Vet Res 2022 May 31;53(1):37.
- Macleay CM, Carrick J, Shearer P, Begg A, Stewart M, Heller J, Chicken C, Brookes VJ. A Scoping Review of the Global Distribution of Causes and Syndromes Associated with Mid- to Late-Term Pregnancy Loss in Horses between 1960 and 2020. Vet Sci 2022 Apr 13;9(4).
- Agerholm JS, Klas EM, Damborg P, Borel N, Pedersen HG, Christoffersen M. A Diagnostic Survey of Aborted Equine Fetuses and Stillborn Premature Foals in Denmark. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:740621.
- Guo L, Holyoak GR, DeSilva U. Endometrial microbiome in mares with and without clinical endometritis. Front Vet Sci 2025;12:1588432.
- Ricard RM, Wobeser B. Molecular detection of Chlamydia abortus in endometrial biopsies of mares from western Canada. J Vet Diagn Invest 2024 Nov;36(6):921-924.
- Li L, Li S, Ma H, Akhtar MF, Tan Y, Wang T, Liu W, Khan A, Khan MZ, Wang C. An Overview of Infectious and Non-Infectious Causes of Pregnancy Losses in Equine. Animals (Basel) 2024 Jul 2;14(13).
- Morales-Vázquez MM, Meza-Serrano E, Lara-Pereyra I, Acuña-González RJ, Alonso-Morales R, Hayen-Valles S, Boeta AM, Zarco L, Lozano-Cuenca J, López-Canales JS, Flores-Herrera H. Equine Placentitis in Mares Induces the Secretion of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokine eIL-1β and the Active Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP)-9. Vet Sci 2023 Aug 22;10(9).
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
